A new study from the Department of Veterans Affairs indicates roughly 20 veterans die from suicide every day.

Researchers are calling it the most comprehensive analysis on veteran suicide rates in the U.S.

Advertisement

The study examined more than 55 million veteran records between 1979 and 2014, and while the numbers indicate veteran suicide is still a very real issue in the country, the findings show the country is moving in the right direction.

Experts said the new estimates still might not be complete.

"With the OIF, OAF veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, we're starting to see an influx of the younger veterans as well," said David Tuttle, suicide prevention coordinator for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The new study says veterans are at a 21 percent higher risk for suicide than civilians.

"Your heart just aches," said Lisbeth Anderson, whose son is an Army veteran. "It breaks."

The issue hits home for Anderson. Her son, Justin, served in the Army, and he lost two close friends and comrades to suicide after returning from Iraq.

"He didn't want to reach out to anyone at that time," she said. "He just wanted to be left alone."

Anderson herself is doing everything she can to help veterans in the community. She started a non-profit organization called “Soundz of Freedom,” which uses music as a form of therapy.

There are additional resources out there for help: The VA's suicide prevention department fields around 20 calls on its crisis line every week from regional vets. Researchers said veterans who do reach out reduce their risk of suicide by almost 40 percent.

"Veterans that get into treatment, that seek treatment, are more likely to not only stay alive, but more likely to achieve that quality of life that we all want to have," Tuttle said.

The VA study also found that 65 percent of all veterans who died from suicide in 2014 were 50 years of age or older. The full report will be released later this month.